Building Green
10 Ways We’re Helping You To Build Green
Building your own home is one of life’s great experiences – a true reflection of your taste and personality. Now, for the first time in history, home-building partners such as Westchester Modular Homes are helping homeowners like you to build “green,” far healthier for your family, your budget, your neighborhood and the planet.
01
The Approach
Building “green” begins with your approach – conventional stick-built or state-of-the-art modular. With modular building, your home is custom-designed using advanced computer-aided-design, then constructed in a precision, climate-controlled factory. On “day one” at your building site, your home is 80% complete, dramatically reducing the impact on the environment at your site. Conventional stick-built homes, by comparison, will interrupt the ecosystem for an average of 180 days.
02
Indoor Environment
Because your home is built in a closed indoor environment, lumber and other materials never get wet, eliminating mold and mildew problems. This creates a healthy living condition and clean non-toxic air in your home for your family to breathe.
03
No Waste
Similarly, building materials are not wasted on site due to faulty workmanship or the inability to accurately measure the exact needs of a project. At Westchester Modular, we purchase materials according to the lengths required for construction. In addition, the use of finger jointed lumber not only conserves natural resources; it also creates straighter and stronger walls.
04
Energy Star Partner
Westchester Modular Homes is an Energy Star® Partner, and can provide you with an optional Energy Star Certified home. This means your home will be inspected to ensure that it meets or exceeds the Energy Star Standards for energy efficiency. Some examples are: Insulation is inspected, potential areas for air infiltration are caulked and sealed, and plumbing pipes are protected from the elements.
05
Recycling
Recycling is also a major part of WMH’s Green Initiative. Drywall scraps are shipped to mills where it is recycled into lime for farming. Cardboard, electrical wire, plywood and other materials are sorted and recycled.
06
Energy Efficiency
Westchester Modular Homes is an Energy Star® Partner, and can provide you with an optional Energy Star® Certified home. This means your home will be inspected to ensure that it meets or exceeds the Energy Star® Standards for energy efficiency. Some examples are: Insulation is inspected, potential areas for air infiltration are caulked and sealed, and plumbing pipes are protected from the elements.
07
Green Manufacturing
Westchester Modular Homes extends Green Building right into the structure of our own manufacturing facility. Recently, all our light fixtures were changed to highly energy efficient fluorescent lights. By making this change, we reduced our Energy Consumption and the amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that are released into the air. By removing these pollutants, Westchester’s initiative has the same effect as planting 27 trees, removing 18 cars from the road and saving 11,255 gallons of gas each year.
08
Water Saving Options
Water, another valuable resource, is also on our Green Agenda. WMH now offers its customers the option to select water-saving faucets, shower heads and commodes which greatly reduce the amount of water consumption in your home on a daily basis without reducing your quality of life.
09
Strong Engineered Homes
By nature, modular homes are among the best engineered and sturdiest homes built. As a result, they’re extremely quiet to live in – again, lessening their environmental impact. Tight, precise construction keeps your family warm and away from harmful toxins in the air.
10
Certified Home Options
You can elect to build an even “Greener” home if you opt to have your home Certified. WMH and Mid-Hudson Development will work together to provide you with a Certified home at the level of your choice.